Diet and Food Guidance for Coronary Artery Disease

Diet is genuine heart medicine for CAD - not as a substitute for statins and stents, but as the daily foundation that decides whether plaque grows, stabilizes or regresses. The heart-healthy Indian plate is specific, practical and delicious once you get there.

The enemies - cut these honestly

• Fried and trans-fat food: samosa-pakora culture, bakery products with vanaspati, reused frying oil - the LDL-and-inflammation drivers. Occasional, not daily
• Excess salt: pickles, papads, namkeen, processed food - under 5 grams a day total (a teaspoon); blood pressure is a plaque accelerator
• Sugar and refined carbs: sweets, sweetened drinks, excess white rice-maida - they drive triglycerides, belly fat and diabetes
• Red meat heavy patterns and full-fat dairy in excess
• Alcohol: no cardiac benefit worth starting for; if drinking, modest limits - and zero in triglyceride problems

The friends - build the plate on these

• Vegetables and fruits: half the plate; leafy greens, gourds, beans, berries, citrus - fiber and potassium actively help cholesterol and BP
• Whole grains: whole wheat atta, brown rice, millets (jowar, bajra, ragi) - the traditional Indian grains are the modern advice
• Dals and legumes daily: protein without the saturated fat
• Nuts: a small handful of almonds-walnuts daily - real evidence for heart benefit
• Fish for those who eat it: twice a week; flaxseed-chia for vegetarians (omega-3)
• Cooking oil discipline: 3-4 teaspoons a day per person, rotate oils (mustard, groundnut, rice bran, olive), never reuse frying oil
• Garlic, turmeric, methi: pleasant supporting players, not medicines

The practical rules that beat the lists

• Cook at home; restaurant food hides salt, oil and sugar
• Halve the fried, double the sabzi
• Eat on time; large late-night meals tax the heart
• After a heart event: the dietitian's plan is part of the prescription, like the medicines

One-line summary

The CAD plate: vegetables and dals forward, whole grains, nuts, disciplined oil, minimal salt-sugar-fried - home-cooked and on time, working daily alongside the medicines, never instead of them.